Team lead Vanessa Cantu pours an extract of hemp into a pan before putting it into a vacuum oven, which eliminates the last traces of solvents used in processing hemp into an extract oil at CW Hemp on April 21, 2016. (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)

Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of the most common chemical compounds found in the marijuana plant. While CBD can help with mental and physical relaxation, it’s not psychoactive like its more famous molecular cousin tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

Cannabinoids look for tissues in the body that express what are called cannabis receptors. They stick to the cells and turn them on to cause the cells to do something, said Richard J. Miller, a Northwestern University pharmacology professor. A lot of the cells that have these receptors are nerve cells in the brain, but also are found in the peripheral nervous system.

Experts say more research is needed before accepting any definitive answers on how CBD might help specific conditions. While scientists have concluded THC acts as a pain reliever, they have yet to determine if CBD has similar qualities.

“Maybe it is good for pain,” said Miller, author of “Drugged: The Science and Culture Behind Psychotropic Drugs.” “There isn’t a very extensive size of scientific literature.”

CBD products are offered in oils, sprays, vapes, flower buds and edibles, much like THC. Some companies sell hemp-based CBD but it has led to a lot of confusion about what is most effective and what is legal.

Marijuana growers are breeding CBD-rich strains of cannabis for those who don’t want the mind-altering effects of THC. But some experts say the two cannabinoids work best in tandem to treat certain ailments.

The drug dronabinol is made from cannabis’ THC molecule and prescribed to treat vomiting and nausea from cancer chemotherapy as well as loss of appetite and weight loss in patients suffering from the HIV infection. No such equivalent drug involving CBD exists yet.

Brazilian professor Francisco Guimaraes told The Washington Post that CBD “is Disneyland for a pharmacologist. There are so many possible mechanisms, so many possible ways it can be useful.”